Bayeux
France
A Norman cathedral town left standing in 1944, and the obvious base for the D-Day beaches fifteen minutes north
Photo by Jordi Vich Navarro on Unsplash
Photos by Veronica Reverse, John Cameron, mana5280 and Ian Kirkland on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
May to June, and September (book far ahead for the D-Day anniversary week)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 78mm in Nov
Where it is
49.28°N, 0.70°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Weeks of it- Give the beaches two days, one for the American sector and one for the British and Canadian
- Check whether the Tapestry is back before building a trip around it
- Go to the American Cemetery at the end of the day for the lowering of the flags
- Walk on the beach at Arromanches at low tide, when the Mulberry caissons are closest
- Find the British cemetery in Bayeux, which most visitors drive past
Bayeux travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeEuros, and cards everywhere, including the museums and the cemeteries’ visitor centres. There is nothing here that needs cash you would have to change for.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines in the town centre. Use a bank’s own machine and refuse the offer to convert into your own currency. The beach villages have few or none.
Avoid these
- independent machines that offer to charge you in your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- BNP Paribas
- Société Générale
- La Banque Postale
Draw what you want in Bayeux; the beach villages have few machines.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
Very safeQuiet and safe. The thing people get wrong is the Bayeux Tapestry: it is in London at the British Museum until summer 2027, and the museum here is closed for rebuilding until late 2027, so check before you plan a day around it. The hazards are distances and edges — Pointe du Hoc is a cliff top that is still eroding, and the paths are fenced for that reason. Around the anniversary in early June the roads are closed for ceremonies and every bed for miles is taken.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- the old town — around the cathedral
- Arromanches-les-Bains
- the Normandy American Cemetery
- Port-en-Bessin
Worth more attention
- Pointe du Hoc — the cliff top is still eroding; stay inside the fences
- the beach at Arromanches at low tide — the flats are wide and the tide comes back over them quickly
- The D-Day anniversary in early June, when roads close for ceremonies and accommodation for miles is booked months ahead
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodThis is butter and cream country — Isigny is half an hour west — and Camembert, Pont-l’Évêque and Livarot all come from within an hour. Cider and pommeau with lunch, calvados after. Lunch in the beach villages is mussels and chips at a café on the front, which is the right lunch.
Travel tipsGetting around
Limited- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Bayeux
No Holistay rentals in Bayeux yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Bayeux on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG
4hfrom the airport· 239 km as the crow flies
RER into Paris and the train from Saint-Lazare, about four hours in all; three by hire car.
Also worth pricing: Caen-Carpiquet CFR — twenty-five minutes away, but its flights are domestic.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
